American Century Companies Inc. Has $40.90 Million Position in Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT)

American Century Companies Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,307,497 shares of the company’s stock after selling 42,909 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.75% of Essential Properties Realty Trust worth $40,899,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust by 118.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 297,989 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,176,000 after buying an additional 161,697 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp bought a new stake in Essential Properties Realty Trust during the 4th quarter worth $287,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,138,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,336,000 after purchasing an additional 76,475 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,594,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,462,000 after purchasing an additional 98,467 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in Essential Properties Realty Trust by 840.9% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 622,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,242,000 after purchasing an additional 555,926 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.98% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Stephen D. Sautel sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.54, for a total transaction of $406,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 178,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,817,663.90. This represents a 6.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Stock Performance

EPRT stock opened at $32.67 on Friday. Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $24.72 and a 1-year high of $34.88. The company has a current ratio of 5.36, a quick ratio of 5.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $31.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.39. The firm has a market cap of $6.13 billion, a PE ratio of 28.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.36.

Essential Properties Realty Trust (NYSE:EPRT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.14. Essential Properties Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.12% and a net margin of 45.15%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Essential Properties Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 103.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EPRT has been the topic of several research reports. Capital One Financial initiated coverage on Essential Properties Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 price target on the stock. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Essential Properties Realty Trust in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, B. Riley downgraded Essential Properties Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $29.50 to $33.50 in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essential Properties Realty Trust has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.91.

Essential Properties Realty Trust Profile

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc, a real estate company, acquires, owns, and manages single-tenant properties in the United States. The company leases its properties to middle-market companies, such as restaurants, car washes, automotive services, medical and dental services, convenience stores, equipment rental, entertainment, early childhood education, grocery, and health and fitness on a long-term basis.